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Alcohol intoxication increases allopregnanolone levels in male adolescent humans

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Abstract

Rationale

Teenage drinking is a cause of growing concern in industrialized countries, where almost 35% of alcohol drinkers are under 16 years old. Increased anxiety, irritability and depression among adolescents may induce them to seek the anxiolytic and rewarding properties of alcohol. Allopregnanolone is rewarding in rodents, and therefore may contribute to the effects of alcohol.

Objective

In this paper, we studied the effects of acute alcohol intoxication on the plasma levels of allopregnanolone in male adolescents.

Methods

Blood samples were drawn from male adolescents who arrived at the Emergency Department of the Hospital. Two groups were studied: one study group was formed by adolescents who arrived with evident behavioral symptoms of acute alcohol intoxication (AAI) and the other by those arriving for mild trauma (contusions, sprains) after no consumption of alcohol (Controls).

Results

Our results demonstrate that AAI significantly increases serum allopregnanolone levels in male adolescents.

Conclusions

Because alcohol and allopregnanolone positively modulate gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptors, allopregnanolone may play a major role in the anxiolytic and rewarding effects of alcohol, either directly or by influencing the sensitivity of GABAA receptors to alcohol.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Dr. R.H. Purdy for the generous gift of allopregnanolone antibody. We thank R. Davies for revising the English text and M. Quintana and R. Arcas for their technical assistance. The authors are indebted to the Clinico University and Trauma Hospitals of Granada for their help. This work was funded in part by ISCiii FIS-PI021625 and by the Andalusian Regional Government through its “Endocrinology and Metabolism” research group.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Institute of Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada, Avda. de Madrid s/n, 18012, Granada, Spain

    J. M. Torres & E. Ortega

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  1. J. M. Torres
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  2. E. Ortega
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Correspondence to E. Ortega.

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Torres, J.M., Ortega, E. Alcohol intoxication increases allopregnanolone levels in male adolescent humans. Psychopharmacology 172, 352–355 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-003-1662-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-003-1662-0

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